China Set to Revive Congo’s Potash Mining Before Dangote
REPUBLIC OF CONGO · MINING
Key Facts
—The timeline: Production trials at Mboukoumassi are due by end-2026 and commercial output in the first quarter of 2027, mining minister Urbain Fiacre Opo said at the Mining on Top Africa conference in Paris on 7–8 July.
—The lead project: Luyuan des Mines, a subsidiary of China’s Shenzhen Luyuan Mining Investment, holds a 242 km² permit in the coastal Kouilou region; phase one targets 600,000 tonnes of potassium chloride a year, expandable to 2 million.
—The Dangote factor: Congo approved a mining permit for Dangote’s Mengo deposit on 18 June — about 325 million tonnes of proven reserves and a planned US$3 billion investment including an NPK fertiliser plant.
—The third horse: Kore Potash’s Kola project plans 2.2 million tonnes a year over a 23-year mine life, with PowerChina as EPC contractor — but the company itself is in a sale process.
—The caveat: Mboukoumassi’s schedule has slipped repeatedly: construction started in 2018-19, was suspended in 2020, resumed in 2023, and targets have been revised several times.
—Why it matters abroad: Atlantic-coast potash sits a short sail from Brazil, the world’s largest fertiliser importer — a direct South-South trade in the making.
Congo potash is set to return after decades of silence: the Republic of Congo expects production trials at the Chinese-backed Mboukoumassi project by the end of 2026 and commercial output in early 2027, its mining minister said in Paris this week — putting Beijing’s developers ahead of a planned US$3 billion venture by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote.
Congo potash returns after decades of silence
Speaking at the Mining on Top Africa conference in Paris on 7–8 July, mining minister Urbain Fiacre Opo said Luyuan des Mines will begin production trials at its Mboukoumassi plant by the end of 2026. “Commercial production could start in the first quarter of 2027,” he said.
If the timetable holds, it would be the first commercial potash produced in the country in decades. It would also pave the way for a queue of larger projects behind it.
Mboukoumassi leads the way
Luyuan, the local arm of China’s Shenzhen Luyuan Mining Investment, holds a mining permit covering 242 square kilometres in the coastal Kouilou region. Its agreement was signed in 2018 and approved by parliament in 2021.
Phase one is designed to produce 600,000 tonnes of potassium chloride a year, with the potential to expand to 2 million tonnes. In September 2025 the government also allocated 577 hectares of public maritime land for an export terminal the company will operate.
Congo is no stranger to the mineral: the Holle mine near Pointe-Noire produced potash in the 1970s until flooding ended output. The industry has been dormant since.
A history of slipped deadlines
The project’s record commands caution. Construction began in 2018-19, was suspended in 2020 for lack of financing, and only resumed in 2023.
In May 2023 officials expected completion by the end of 2025, and in August 2024 chief executive Wu Bennong promised trials before the end of that year and 800,000 tonnes of output in 2026 — none of which materialised. The minister’s latest comments mark another milestone rather than a breakthrough, as Ecofin Agency notes.
Dangote’s US$3 billion counterplay
The project drawing the most attention belongs to Aliko Dangote. On 18 June, Congo’s Council of Ministers approved a mining permit for his group’s Mengo deposit in Kouilou, estimated to hold about 325 million tonnes of proven reserves.
Production is planned in three phases running from 1 million to 3 million tonnes a year, alongside an NPK fertiliser plant, in an investment estimated at US$3 billion. Feasibility studies and environmental assessments are still pending — and the group is simultaneously building ports, power and fertiliser capacity in Tanzania.
Kola, PowerChina and a company for sale
The third major player, London- and Sydney-listed Kore Potash, holds 97.46 percent of the Kola and Dougou Extension projects in the Sintoukola Basin. Kola is designed for 2.2 million tonnes a year over a 23-year mine life, with initial capital costs of about US$2.07 billion and an EPC contract signed with PowerChina.
The company reached a non-binding agreement with Swiss fund OWI-RAMS in June 2025 to raise roughly US$2.2 billion. But construction has not begun, and Kore said on 30 June that two bidders remain in a formal sale process for the whole company.
Why the world is watching Kouilou
Potash is the backbone of modern fertiliser, and Congo’s deposits sit on the Atlantic — within direct shipping reach of Brazil, the world’s largest fertiliser importer. For Central Africa, a working potash industry would be a rare diversification away from oil.
For Brazzaville, the sequencing matters as much as the tonnage. A working first mine would de-risk the basin for the two far larger projects behind it.
The race also carries a geopolitical charge: Chinese capital is positioned to restart the industry before Nigerian and Western-listed rivals, another data point in the new scramble for Africa’s resources. Brazzaville’s task now is to turn three ambitious projects into at least one producing mine.
Frequently asked questions
When will the Republic of Congo resume potash production?
Production trials at the Mboukoumassi project are due by the end of 2026, with commercial output targeted for the first quarter of 2027, according to mining minister Urbain Fiacre Opo. It would be Congo’s first commercial potash in decades.
Who is developing the Mboukoumassi potash project?
Luyuan des Mines, the local subsidiary of China’s Shenzhen Luyuan Mining Investment, under a 2018 mining agreement approved by parliament in 2021. The first phase targets 600,000 tonnes of potassium chloride a year, expandable to 2 million tonnes.
What is Aliko Dangote planning in Congo?
A roughly US$3 billion venture on the Mengo deposit, whose mining permit was approved on 18 June 2026, with production planned in phases of 1 to 3 million tonnes a year plus an NPK fertiliser plant. Feasibility and environmental studies are still pending.
Why does Congolese potash matter internationally?
Potash is a key crop fertiliser, and Congo’s Atlantic coast puts future output within direct reach of Brazil, the world’s largest fertiliser importer. Chinese, Nigerian and Western-listed developers are all racing to build the industry.
Connected Coverage
Elsewhere in the region, DR Congo is building its first deep-water Atlantic port, Cameroon is financing a US$957 million refinery at Kribi, and Dangote is expanding his industrial empire into East Africa.
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